The invention relates to the creation of a real time wide angle video camera system which instantaneously corrects distortion associated with a wide angle camera lens. By virtue of the rapid image correction process of the invention, images may be corrected in real time, without post image creation processing, which also enables images from multiple cameras to be seamlessly combined into a wide angle image whose undistorted field of view is unattainable with single camera lenses of the prior art.
The current information age and the increases in technology have enabled people to obtain and utilize information at an unprecedented rate greater than any other point in history. Computers enable people to utilize the internet to search for information and transmit such information at unprecedented rates through any number of communication channels. The need for information exchange has enhanced our knowledge, opened new opportunities for entertainment, and increased our ability to secure ourselves against danger.
Still photography and video imaging are well known in the art, and by themselves, they have enhanced our capacity to enjoy life and maintain our public safety. However, even with recent advances in technology, video imaging continues to suffer from drawbacks which hinder the ability to accurately and rapidly display video images. Often important in capturing a video image, a wide field of view is desired. However, with any wide angle lens, as the field of view is increased, the image becomes increasingly distorted, bulging outward at points closer to the center and inward further from the center of the image. Images are distorted with increasing field of view as image magnification decreased further from the optical axis. Accordingly, not only are traditional wide angle lenses physically limited in their ability to capture a wide field of view, the image obtained from such lenses is increasingly less accurate, ie. distorted, as the field of view becomes wider.
The prior art contains many attempts to correct for image distortion by employing different adjustment techniques to images to restore the image to its undistorted appearance. Various algorithms may be utilized to adjust the image and remove distortion based on the amount of distortion at various points in the image. However, traditionally such distortion removal techniques could only be performed after the image was taken resulting in delayed ability to observe distortion removed images.
In addition to the limitations in distortion correction, traditionally a single wide angle lens is physically limited in its ability to capture a wide field of view. Combining multiple overlapping images is hindered by the distortion created in each image which prevents similar elements in each image from aligning. Still photos may be processed after the images are taken to correct for distortion, align image components, and combine the images. However, traditional techniques render alignment of overlapping video images in real time virtually impossible as the images from each frame must be instantly corrected, aligned, and combined. Under traditional prior art techniques, the amount of time required to process each frame of real time video renders creation of a continuous real time video output impossible.
Image distortion correction systems of the prior art have numerous limitations which do not enable such systems to achieve the real time distortion correction speeds of the invention or the image field of view of the invention. For instance, Li, U.S. Pat. No. 9,196,022 provides for a only single video camera to be mounted on the back of a vehicle and cannot provide for increased field of view as only one camera is utilized. Li provides no means for calculating and correcting the images obtained from a variety of cameras to instantly combine the images. Similarly, Kamiya in U.S. Pat. No. 9,118,831 discusses only one camera and cannot combine multiple images to increase the field of view.
Liu in U.S. Pat. No. 9,183,669 utilizes a two camera system to record a single image in three dimensions, but does not provide a means of increasing the field of view of an image or correcting distortion. In U.S. Pat. No. 9,071,732, McClatchie combines images to form a broader field of view; however, McClatchie's images are still images, not processed in real time, and do not involve the real time video imaging of the invention.
The prior art fails to provide a means for correcting distortion in real time and combining undistorted images in real time to produce an undistorted wide angle video image in any direction. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a means of correcting distortion in an image through the use of a jig calibration device which may be used to correct for distortion of any camera. It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of combining multiple images to create an enhanced wide angle view of an image scene in real time which exceeds the capabilities of images created by a single camera lens. It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of correcting camera image distortion in real time thus eliminating the need for post processing of images and saving time and reducing labor costs. It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of correcting image distortion regardless of the tilt or orientation of a camera or cameras in relation to a vertical axis. The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a means of creating a single undistorted video image from multiple cameras in real time.